Montana Skies

Chapter 30. Badass

            The announcer called out the names of the finalists, and I was one of them. I was also in the lead. I looked at River nervously.

River rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you're nervous, baby."

I cringed and sighed but gave him a nod. "I am."

"You have no reason to be nervous. You're in the fucking lead, Dallas. I can't believe how amazing you're doing." The proud look on his face made me smile. I stood up and wrapped my arms around his waist.

River hugged me back tightly. "You got this, baby girl," he said in my ear. "And when it's all over, we'll celebrate."

The double meaning in his words, made me smile wider.

"Dallas."

We turned and saw my mother. She stepped toward us with a man beside her. He wasn't like some of the men I had seen her with. He was clean and wore nice clothes. He appeared to be in good shape and not on drugs. My mother looked pretty good too.

"Mom," I said, surprised. I raised my eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you mentioned you were competing, and I thought it'd be great to see you compete." She smiled shyly. "I used to do these things a long time ago too."

This took me by surprise, but I guess it shouldn't have. It wasn't like I knew much about my mother.

"Great. Well, I'm glad you came. Enjoy the show," I said and smiled.

"Oh, this is my husband, Austin. Austin, this is my daughter Dallas," Mom introduced.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Dallas," Austin said. He smiled warmly at me.

"Nice to meet you as well," I said politely. I shook his hand. "This is my boyfriend, River," I said.

"Yes, the football coach? I heard you're doing great," Austin complimented.

"I have a great team," River said. River was modest as hell. He was a great coach, and he really didn't give himself nearly enough credit.

The announcer called my name.

Mom stepped forward and hugged me and kissed my cheek. "You'll do great, sweetie," she said and smiled. Her eyes danced in excitement, and it was genuine.

Drugs had really messed her up because she was nothing like I remembered. Even Helen agreed I should give her a chance, but to ease into the relationship. Helen wished me luck with my mom.

Helen was here with Willow, Bonnie, and Lyle in the stands.

River kissed me and led me out of the stalls and toward the arena.

I got on my horse. I was the last contestant. This is it all or nothing. The bright lights of the arena shined. My heart hammered, and the clock seemed to move slower than normal. I reminded myself that I was doing this for River, Lyle, and me. After this, I should be able to get the funds to start up the horse clinic. Taking on hard to train horses or train horses for others wouldn't be easy, but I was excited about it.

The bell rang.

Crixus and I barreled through the gates. We made our way to the first barrel and got around it easily. We raced toward the second barrel. I took it sharper than normal, and luckily Crixus didn't lose his stride. My long curly brown hair flew out behind me beneath my black cowboy hat.